What to Expect at CES 2020

Immersive audio is the new high-end standard for sound systems, with Dolby Atmos leading the way. Immersive audio breaks out of the discrete channel concept, using sophisticated audio processing to place different sources of sound in different positions around the room in a 360-degree sphere by mixing those sources between different drivers and speakers.

While new speaker systems and soundbars can still be measured in channel numbers like 5.1.4 (the last number indicating height channels, which enables the sense of verticality in immersive audio), these technologies can create much more detailed, compelling sound fields. Expect to see plenty of new sound systems that support Dolby Atmos and other immersive audio formats like DTS:X and Sony's 360 Reality Audio, with height-based satellites or upward-firing drivers to match.—Will Greenwald, Senior Consumer Electronics Analyst

We expect to see plenty of refreshed smartwatches and fitness trackers at CES, but perhaps the real innovation will be vendors coming up with new (and unusual) ways to track your health stats through other household goods. Bisu, for example, is unveiling the Body Coach, a smart urine analyzer that provides personalized health advice. Other vendors plan on showing off robots designed to relieve stress.

We might also see more sex toys at this year's CES. As part of a one-year trial, show organizers are permitting "tech-based sexual products" in Health and Wellness and startup categories after sparking controversy for banning a female sex toy maker at last year's event. (That said, anatomically correct sex dolls and robots are still banned—that's what the AVN show is for.)—Michael Kan, Reporter

Portable computing could evolve significantly in 2020, with many manufacturers planning to introduce laptops with 5G wireless connectivity. The first such device will likely be from Lenovo and Qualcomm, which teased a prototype last year. We expect additional 5G-capable PCs to show up at CES, especially business laptops, since they have been the primary market for LTE connectivity in the past.

Plans are also afoot for the first foldable-screen and dual-screen PCs, and we'll likely see several such announcements at CES. Lenovo, Microsoft, and Dell have all confirmed that they're working on these devices, which merge laptops, phones, and tablets together into a single device. Microsoft is also developing a special version of the Windows operating system for them, called Windows 10 X. If any foldable or dual-screen PCs make an appearance, they will likely be prototypes and not finished products, since the processors and software that power them are still in the early stages of development.

CES is always chock-full of conventional laptops and 2-in-1 convertible models, and 2020 won't be any different. We're already looking forward to the revamped Dell XPS 13 (pictured), which was announced this week ahead of the show, and there will likely be many more such devices at both entry-level and premium prices. We expect to see innovative features announced, like touchpads that double as wireless charging pads and extremely thin screen borders, but we're not counting on any major advances in CPUs given Intel's recent unveiling of its 10th generation Core CPUs.

Although the sheer number of new and updated laptops might steal the PC portion of the show, don't count desktop computers out. Major PC makers like Asus, Acer, and HP will all be at CES, and they'll likely trot out powerful new gaming rigs and perhaps an all-in-one or two. Gaming PC maker Razer will also be present, and it's known for teasing wild prototype PCs, only some of which make their way to production.—Tom Brant, Senior Hardware Analyst

So, about those CPUs: Will there be CES action on the PC-processor front? (Bet on it, given the swirl of rumors around both AMD and Intel.) As for graphics: Will we see an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Super, or some kind of AMD beast-level video card to replace the Radeon VII, which decloaked at CES 2019? (Anyone's guess, that.) How about further mainstream-priced "Navi" cards from AMD? (Inevitable in 2020, but at CES? Also a roll of the dice.) And what about Intel's Xe dedicated GPUs? (Best to just throw the dice out the window, and see what happens.)

With the furious pace of CPU releases in the second half of last year by AMD (we covered at length its third-gen, 7nm Ryzen and Ryzen Threadripper lines), it's hard to imagine the CPU underdog keeping pace. But the rumors around new mobile silicon from both it and Intel are too strong to ignore. And with Intel back on its heels for the first time in a long time, we'd expect a major response from Team Blue at the biggest tech venue there is.

We wouldn't expect CES 2020 to be a big show for PC desktop CPU platforms. (Too much happened in late 2019 to expect much more, though we'd love to hear an update about 10th Generation Core desktop chips from Intel.) But for mobile, we believe major moves will be afoot.

Clear bets? Intel's H-series power chips for laptops haven't yet made the leap to 10th Generation; nor has business-friendly vPro. And AMD, with its 7nm process working in overdrive, seems poised to bring the tech to mobile; indeed, CEO Dr. Lisa Su has cited that 7nm mobile should be coming in early 2020. Draw from those items what you will. And stay tuned to AMD's and Intel's press conferences on Jan. 6 for the latest moves and counter-moves.—John Burek, Executive Editor, Hardware

Smart home innovation has been relatively conservative over the past few years, but we anticipate some monumental shifts in the market in 2020. The biggest driving force will be 5G wireless technology. With major networks lighting up 5G across the country, much faster and lower-latency connections will become available to users outside of conventional Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. This can result in smart lights, smart locks, thermostats, and security cameras all connected through the newest cellular technology, perhaps even bundled together and professionally installed by the providers themselves.

It will take some time before 5G smart homes really shake out, though; 5G adoption itself needs to expand and become more widely accepted, and the range limitations of some of the networks could restrict their use to cities. Maybe we'll see more 5G-powered smart apartments before we get many 5G-powered smart houses.

LG's CordZero Robotic Mop (pictured), which will be making its debut at the show, doesn't support 5G, but it can be connected to the company's R9 robot vacuum via Wi-Fi for a whole-home cleaning network. However these smart devices connect to the internet, hopefully they'll be much more secure than they've been in the past. After recent revelations of Ring working with police to surveil homes and a spate of wider security breaches, the question remains just how wise it is to have a very smart home.—Adam Smith, Contributing Editor for PCMag UK

8K (7,680 by 4,320) is the name of the game for 2020, so expect most major TV manufacturers to start rolling out their newest ultra-ultra-high-definition models. The technology is still very new and we still don't have any confirmation about native 8K consumer media availability, but that won't stop the quadrupled resolution from becoming the newest premium feature you can get on your TV. Just be prepared to watch a lot of 1080p and 4K content upconverted to 8K for a while.—Will Greenwald, Senior Consumer Electronics Analyst

VR has largely stabilized for now, and we probably won't see any big announcements from the main headset manufacturers, since most of them have their own events at which they can unveil new hardware. Oculus has Oculus Connect; PlayStation VR, SteamVR, and Windows Mixed Reality have E3 and GDC, and if Google ever picks up momentum with virtual reality again, it has Google I/O. There isn't much space at CES for big VR news. This leaves plenty of room for smaller manufacturers to show off new technology that could help shape virtual reality in the future (like the NordicTrack VR bike from last year), but there won't be much big name, consumer-ready hardware revealed in Las Vegas.—Will Greenwald, Senior Consumer Electronics Analyst

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